title: German medical students' beliefs about the effectiveness of different methods of stopping smoking.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In many countries, smoking cessation interventions are not routinely delivered as recommended in national and international guidelines. This may be because of incorrect beliefs about their effectiveness. This study assessed which cessation methods are believed to be effective by medical students in different years of undergraduate education as well as predictors of correct beliefs about effectiveness.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this cross-sectional study, undergraduate students from 27 German medical schools were invited to complete a survey addressing demographic characteristics, smoking status, self-rated knowledge of health consequences, and treatment options for smoking and beliefs about the effectiveness of 8 different methods to achieve long-term smoking cessation. Predictors of beliefs were identified by means of multilevel modeling.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 19,526 students completed the survey. Students greatly overestimated the effectiveness of unaided quitting, and differences between years of undergraduate education were small. In the final year, 51% of students wrongly believed that willpower alone was more effective than a comprehensive group cessation program, including nicotine replacement therapy. Multilevel modeling revealed that having never smoked, supporting public smoking bans, and recalling theoretical training in smoking cessation were associated with correct beliefs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A considerable proportion of German medical students believe that willpower alone is more effective than comprehensive treatment programs to support a quit attempt.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology and Pneumology, University Medical Centre Göttingen, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany;
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Raupach
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Strobel
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Beard
authors.forename: Henning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Krampe
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Anders
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: West
mesh_terms: D003376:Counseling; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003469:Culture; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D057566:Self Report; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires